Hazleton Area boys breeze to WVC Track and Field championship

Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.

HAZLE TWP. — The competition grew to its highest level yet this year, but the Hazleton Area boys track team simply did what it’s done all year — win.

The Cougars capped off an undefeated team season by running away with the Wyoming Valley Conference Boys Track and Field championship on their home track Monday afternoon.

Hazleton Area finished with 115.5 team points, Crestwood a distant second with 78.5 and Berwick finished in third with 75 points.

The Cougars had winners all over the complex, with five gold medalists and nine total top-three finishers.

“It’s who they are, they’ve worked for this moment and for next week,” Hazleton Area coach Dustin Hausherr said. “Our focus is on this time of season, it’s from this day on.”

Joseph Mazaika set the tone for Hazleton Area in the very first boys event of the day, cruising to a win in the 110 hurdles. Mazaika would add a second win in the 300 hurdles, over a second clear of second-place finisher Luke Peters of Berwick.

“I think we’ve got a strong school and a strong spirit,” Mazaika said. “I think we’re going to keep building that up for years to come.”

He was joined at the top of the podium by several of his teammates, with Franklin Ritz picking up the next Hazleton Area win on the track in the 1,600 run.

Victories from Darren Seiwell in the pole vault and Sam Guzman in the javelin rounded out the gold medalists for Hazleton Area, with Guzman also setting his own personal best with a throw of 201 feet, 9 inches.

Even with the personal best and the gold medal well in hand, Guzman acknowledged that he didn’t feel like he had hit his peak yet with the javelin, looking ahead to next week’s District 2 championships.

“It was a great throw, but still there are some little things I was upset with,” Guzman said. “This is the time that we work for, and I want to come out on top.”

While it was the Cougars that put together the best team performance, the best individual day came from Berwick’s Ty Wilkerson.

Wilkerson started his day with a win in a photo finish over Crestwood’s George Jennings in the 100 dash, and followed that up by taking gold in the long jump.

He anchored his team to victory in the 4×100 relay, and ended his outstanding afternoon with a third-place finish in the 200 dash, making the podium for a fourth time in four tries.

“I feel pretty good, not bad,” Wilkerson said. “I’m excited for more competition.”

Jennings would rebound to pick up a win for Crestwood in the 200 dash, and teammate Mason Staude won the 3,200 run to help the Comets take second place overall.

Monday’s competitors will have a week to prepare for the District 2 Track and Field Championships, a two-day event starting next Monday at Scranton Memorial Stadium.

Wyoming Valley Conference Boys Track and Field Championships

Team Standings

1. Hazleton Area (HAZ) 115.5, 2. Crestwood (CRE) 78.5, 3. Berwick (BER) 75, 4. Pittston Area (PA) 74.5, 5. Dallas (DAL) 63, 6. Northwest Area (NW) 53, 7. Wyoming Area (WA) 51.5, 8. Tunkhannock (TUN) 47.5, 9. Wilkes-Barre Area (WBA) 44, 10. Lake-Lehman (LL) 38, 11. Wyoming Valley West (WVW) 28, 12. Holy Redeemer (HR) 20.5, 13. Hanover Area (HAN) 7, 14. Nanticoke Area (NAN) 6.

110 Hurdles — 1. Joseph Mazaika (HAZ) 15.99, 2. Anson Jumper (CRE) 16.56, 3. Gage Leffler (PA) 16.94; 100 Dash — 1. Ty Wilkerson (BER) 11.16, 2. George Jennings (CRE) 11.17, 3. Aaron Crossley (WA) 11.29; 4×800 Relay — 1. LL (Finn Cronin, Nicco Diana, Stephen Martin, Ben Wnuk) 8:21.89, 2. CRE 8:24.14, 3. PA 8:27.48; 1600 Run — 1. Franklin Ritz (HAZ) 4:33.19, 2. Oliver Heintzelman (NW) 4:37.92, 3. Michael Fritz (NW) 4:45.29; 400 Dash — 1. Jalen Moore (PA) 50.39, 2. Owen Pollock (HAZ) 50.98, 3. Landon Kester (NW) 51.49; 4×100 Relay — 1. BER (Caleb May, Kaden Hickman, Alex Estrella, Ty Wilkerson) 44.33, 2. WBA 44.74, 3. DAL 45.07; 300 Hurdles — 1. Joseph Mazaika (HAZ) 41.39, 2. Luke Peters (BER) 42.96, 3. Anson Jumper (CRE) 43.08; 800 Run — 1. Preston Klem (PA) 1:58.31, 2. Franklin Ritz (HAZ) 1:59.44, 3. Caden Boettger (NW) 2:03.29; 200 Dash — 1. George Jennings (CRE) 22.44, 2. Jalen Moore (PA) 22.67, 3. Ty Wilkerson (BER) 22.68; 3200 Run — 1. Mason Staude (CRE) 9:50.12, 2. Michael Fritz (NW) 9:51.12, 3. Bryce Phillips (DAL) 10:00.29; 4×400 Relay — 1. TUN (Andrew Lance, Mason Montross, Callum Jerome, Andrew Lupinski) 3:32.95; 2. PA 3:33.03; 3. NW 3:33.53; Pole Vault — 1. Darren Seiwell (HAZ) 13-0; 2. Hayden Martincheck (CRE) 13-0, 3. Nicholas Scalzo (WA) 12-0; Long Jump — 1. Ty Wilkerson (BER) 21’6.5, 2. Daevon Underwood (WBA) 20’10, 3. Xanye Murphy (WBA) 20’5; Javelin — 1. Samuell Guzman (HAZ) 201’9, 2. Matthew Staffin (HAZ) 155’10, 3. Chase Meyers (WVW) 147’7; Discus — 1. John Cummings (DAL) 136’3, 2. Tucker Crawford (NW) 134’5, 3. Harrison Snyder (BER) 130’7; Triple Jump — 1. Andrew Lupinski (TUN) 43’8, 2. Luke Kopetchny (WA) 42’0.25, 3. Lucas LoPresto (PA) 41’5.5; High Jump — 1. Will Lupinski (TUN) 6’2, 3. *Kayden Nolasco (HAZ) 6’0; Shot Put — 1. Harrison Snyder (BER) 50’10, 2. Josh Mruk (WA) 43’8, 3. John Turner (WA) 43’7.

*second-place finisher in triple jump was DQed